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Nintendo recently updated its Switch eShop policies, making a change many fans have been requesting practically since the console released: the ability to cancel pre-orders if you donât want the game. Hereâs how you can do it.
Previously, whenever you paid for a game on the Switch, all sales were final. As soon as money changed hands, you couldnât decide you didnât want the game. Needless to say, this did not make gamers happy, as the flexibility to cancel pre-orders should you change your mind is one of the benefits of pre-ordering. In fact, some European authorities investigated whether it was illegal (itâs not). But suffice to say gamers have been lobbying for this change for quite some time.
Now the store policy has changed so that the pre-order charge will only go through 7 days before the game is released, at which point the product is considered paid for and the sale is final. NintendoLife also reports that another change to the eShop is that itâll now say how long is left on a sale or discount, so that buyers can make informed purchasing decisions. Again, this fixes a longstanding bugbear for Switch users, as there was previously no indication of how long youâd be able to get the sale price, unlike just about every other gaming store out there.
So say you do want to cancel your pre-order, and youâre still within the grace period to do it. How do you do it? Iâll walk you through it. (Also, I apologize in advance for the grainy photos. Screenshots in the eShop are an innovation Nintendo has not yet implemented at time of writing.)
To check on your pre-orders â and cancel them â go to the eShop on your Switch. Go all the way to your right, and select your account icon. Here youâll be able to find all of the details on your recent purchases, including items to redownload, your Switch Online membership, and any subscriptions. At the very bottom, youâll see âYour Pre-Orders.â
When you go to this tab, youâll see a list of all the games youâve pre-ordered. Youâll see their release date, when you can expect to be charged for them, and how much they cost. Then youâll see an orange button that says, âCancel Pre-Order.â Click on that, and youâll be prompted to confirm. Once you do, the pre-order will be gone. Simple as that.
Also worth noting is that youâll be told, when you submit the pre-order, when you can expect to be charged for it. Itâll even lay out for you when the cancellation cut-off time is in a little graph, though only the first time you pre-order after this policy change (as far as I can tell).
And thatâs it! Now you can feel free to cancel game pre-orders on your Switch to your heartâs content. I did it just as a show of power after not being able to for years. Good luck!
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